Saudi-backed LIV Golf forcing PGA to pay players fairly

FOR NEARLY FOUR years, the world's two most prominent professional golf tours battled over players, the moral high ground and outright survival. Now, the feud appears to be ending.

- ADAM MINTER Bloomberg

Earlier this week, Bloomberg News reported that Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund, owner of the upstart LIV Golf, is nearing a deal to acquire a roughly 6% stake in the Professional Golfers' Association's commercial arm, PGA Tour Enterprises. Many fans will find it difficult to accept the two organizations coming together because it will require lovers of the sport to move on from a clash that was often about Saudi Arabia's abysmal human rights record, not golf.

The PGA Tour as we know it today was established in 1968 and has grown into a commercial juggernaut. In 2023, for example, it reported $1.82 billion in revenue, much of which was derived from multi-billion dollar media rights deals. The money enriches golfers, especially the top ones. That year, Rory McElroy earned $24.9 million in PGA-related compensation. It makes for a great payday. But McElroy shouldn't be completely happy with it, either.

Unlike an NBA player, he isn't a salaried employee. Instead, he and other PGA Tour athletes are independent contractors who are only compensated if they make the cut at a tournament (finish in the top 65 golfers). And even then, their pay is determined by how high they finish.